Cute little chicks

A friend of a friend just sold me nine baby chickens today for $25. I’ve been wanting to raise a few chickens now that I’m living in the country so that I can have some decent eggs to eat that don’t cost $6+/dozen.

Yep, that was another reason I wanted to get them. In the long run, it saves money and keeps things as natural as possible. I’ve also got a worm/compost bin, which should help with gardening and save landfills.

Plus, chickens will help keep the bug population down just in case my cats get bored or lazy.

Eggs range from about $2/dozen to $12/dozen. When you get them for $2, they’re usually from chickens in factories that don’t have access to proper food such as insects. To get eggs from completely free-range, healthy chickens, it costs quite a bit. Even then, unless you know the farmer, you’re not 100% sure the chickens are healthy because government guidelines are extremely loose.

The best eggs I can find in local supermarkets is about $5-$6 for a dozen.

These are adorable ones and you will enjoy them when they will follow you every corner of house and try to place themselves under your feet. The surprising thing for me is the price. Here in my area, i can get maximum $1 each.

I love chicks!
We decided to breed some once but none of us was used to “natural eggs”, that is very strong color and smell!
I advise you to keep few chickens and one rooster only (or none at all), we had couples and that leads to noisy fights lol.

You said that government guidelines are extremely loose?! Thought that was opposite in USA, or not in the countries?!

In the U.S., guidelines for “organic” food is extremely loose. Even “free-range” chickens can be caged up with access to just a few bugs rather than being truly free range. Companies find easy ways around the guidelines all the time. The only way to truly know how healthy the food you’re getting in the U.S. is to know the farmer or do it yourself.

Natural eggs or yard eggs are the best. My previous housemate’s dad keeps free-range chickens and we got free eggs from him all the time.

As far as roosters go, we’re going to keep one but definitely no more than that.

I love it, I enjoy seeing people take an interest is going natural, going old-school. I live in an apartment, so raising animals outside of cats (who would not be good for the chickens) is not an option at this time. In the future it would be fun to have either a small farm or just a few acres to do whatever I want with.

My hubby and I have been talking about buying some chickens to clear the yard of ticks. Even though our dogs get flea and tick prevention medicine, they still come inside with ticks on them! My biggest concern is that the coyotes will get to the chickens and kill them.

You definitely need a cage for them at night or when you’re not at home. When the sun goes down is when most predators come out. Four-foot chicken wire is about $7-$8 for a 25-foot roll. That, with a few boards and posts is pretty cheap to set up. You don’t need anything elaborate.

If your dogs stay outside a lot, it can also offer good protection for the chickens. Of course, you’ll want to train your dogs not to eat them.

What is your rough cost on raising the chicks – for food, water, heat etc. I’m wondering if it’s more cost effective to buy adult chickens, or simply buy eggs from an organic farmer. Yes it would be nice to have “my own” eggs, but for us $5/dozen for certified organic (I’m in Canada) from a local farmer at the farmer’s market seems like a lot less time, money and effort than raising my own chicks/chickens

So, I’ve invested about a total of $46 thus far. But, that’s mostly up-front costs. The up-front costs are where a lot of people go wrong. They spend tons of money or buy elaborate cages. Keep it simple and use as much free stuff as possible.

The feed is the only thing that’ll be an ongoing cost. Because I live in Alabama, this cost is minimal. The chickens can freely eat bugs and plants year round down here.

Don’t forget the other benefits of having chickens either. Eggs are great, but just having a few around for pest control is even better. You don’t have to use chemical bug sprays that cost money and harm the environment. Plus, chickens are great entertainment.

It might be slightly cheaper to buy adult chickens though. Most hens around here cost about $10 each. But, you get an immediate return on your investment.

Also, I don’t know what “certified organic” entails in Canada, but in the U.S., it doesn’t hold much weight.

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